Eventually, they grow up

STOCKTON - A photo identification is affixed to Matthew Cirimele's left shoulder as he marches from classroom to classroom at Colonial Heights Elementary on a recent Monday morning.

Keith Reid

STOCKTON - A photo identification is affixed to Matthew Cirimele's left shoulder as he marches from classroom to classroom at Colonial Heights Elementary on a recent Monday morning.

His job title, displayed in bold type on his ID badge, is one of a kind in Lincoln Unified and maybe anywhere: Reader.

Cirimele, 28, volunteers weekly to read books to the children at the elementary school where he once roamed as a pupil himself, enrolled in the school's highly successful autism inclusion program.

As he read, his controlled voice booms to the back of the room, sometimes in an animated voice for each of the characters

To one class, he reads a Curious George book. The next class will hear a Peter Pan story. The children are consumed. In this moment, Cirimele is in his element. He's an entertainer with a schedule to keep. He won't disappoint.

"Today, I brought 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' Donald Duck, 'Peter Pan' and 'Curious George Goes to an Amusement Park,' " said Cirimele, who, although he is in his late 20s, has the mental make-up of a preteen. "I go to the office first, and usually, they type up a schedule so that I know exactly where to go."

With the help of his mother, Ann Cirimele, Matthew Cirimele has become a model of what a successful person with autism can become. He's articulate and helpful, and he has found purpose reading to schoolchildren. It's a job of sorts that requires responsibility and skills, even if there's no pay. He also is a key figure in The Advocates, a Stockton-based singing group composed of people with developmental disabilities, which performs at various times throughout the year, including at the Asparagus Festival.

Ann Cirimele said her son's becoming a leader in the singing group.

Stories such as Matthew Cirimele's are not as common as some believe should be. While the autism community is hard at work trying to create a system that will find jobs, college programs and housing to handle an influx of adults, services for people older than 22 are lacking, according to autism advocates.

"In the next 10 years, we have a million people (with autism) coming into the adult world," said Matt Asner, executive director of the Autism Speaks California chapter. "People need to start thinking about transition as soon as possible. I heard a quote before, that people need to stop looking at children with autism as children, but as future adults with autism."

Asner, who has a brother and a son with autism, said the state and country are ill prepared to take on the great demand expected when 1 in 88 children being diagnosed with autism reach adulthood.

"It's invisible unless it affects you directly," Asner said. "That's the problem. People don't see it unless it affects them."

It's slow going, but change in adult services is on the way.

Colleges, such as California State University, Northridge, have been accepting students with developmental disabilities on individual education plans that will provide them aides, tutoring and other help along the way. That's a start, Asner said.

Local groups, such as the Stockton and Modesto-based Central Valley Autism Project, are also working to create more services and job opportunities at the local level. There are thousands of autism cases in San Joaquin County.

"There's a bubble of individuals who have moved through the teenage years into adulthood, and finding services for them is really a challenge," said Mila Amerine Dickens, director of the Central Valley Autism Project. "It's very important to help adults with autism find jobs; meaningful jobs that really do contribute to society, their own self worth, and to sustain themselves hopefully long term."

Asner said people with autism are likely to be hardworking and extremely loyal to their companies. Parents need to be involved, however, and plan for the eventual transition to adulthood as soon as they can, he said.

Planning for adult transition is as daunting a task as when a child is first diagnosed, Asner said.

"Every parent with a 10-year-old child that has been diagnosed with autism is thinking, 'What the heck am I going to do?' " he said.

Transition means more than college applications or vocational training. It might mean parents cutting the cord on their children's dependency far before they turn 18 so they can obtain Social Security benefits sooner, Ann Cirimele said. Some families will need to declare that their children are unable to take care of themselves, so they then can take conservatorship of their children's finances and future decision making.

Families with autistic teenagers should start planning for adulthood before the age of 15, according to Autism Speaks.

Asner said Autism Speaks is promoting housing projects for the developmentally disabled. He predicts a business model for nursing homes that cater to people with developmental disabilities is imminent, as many will undoubtedly outlive their parents.

"What we don't want to start doing is to start putting square pegs in round holes," he said. "Some won't go to college. ... Some won't be able to get a job. But what we have to start doing as parents is finding a pathway that is going to make our children (with autism) happy. When you think about it, we as parents think about what we want for our children. But it's not. It's what we want for us. If there's something that makes your child with autism happy, embrace it."

Asner's words couldn't describe the Cirimele family better.

"Matt loves his jobs, even though they are volunteer," Ann Cirimele said, noting that Matthew considers his role on The Advocates a job. "He's so religious about doing his jobs and being on time. He really is a happy camper."